For propane gas grills, I’m a Weber fan. They just have better build quality. You can find a lot of other brands for cheaper AND with more “features”, but I find that many of those fall apart after 2-3 years, especially if you aren’t great at covering them up and/or live in harsh climes. The Webers are a lot pricier for the same features, but they can last year-after-year.
Biggest thing I’d suggest considering is size and ability to do good indirect cooking (e.g., burners positioned so that you can have large areas of grill without direct heat). On size, usual advice is consider the space you would normally use on a regular basis (e.g., 8 burgers) and then double it for the big parties.
I’ve had Weber’s and non-Weber’s. Besides quality, one very big word separates a lot of them: warranty. Things break on an outdoor grill, sometimes 5-10 years later even if it’s a good grill. You can get multiple parts on a Weber up to 10 years later, some parts even 12 years later via warranty.
You pay more initially though, so it’s entirely up to how much you think you’ll use your grill. This cycle I went back to Weber after having a Char-Broil that literally disintegrated within 6 years.
Don’t go overboard with your purchase. If you grill rarely and not for many people the Weber Spirit series is fine. If you have a larger family or have guests over or just want to grill more at once, the Weber Genesis series is top notch and you can base things on how many burners and/or side burner/hotplate you need.
For propane, I have the equivalent of the Weber Spirit II (my model number is technically different/earlier, but it’s this size/layout): that’s been going strong for over a decade:
With good ol’ CL, I think as long as it’s a decent looking Weber Spirit, you’ll be fine.
Like I said I’m going the Craigslist route; there are always a million up and you can get one in good condition in the $250 range in my town. So even if it’s not perfect, eh.
If you’re going CL route and can land a Weber, even if not covered under warranty there are so many out there you can even get spare parts from Lowe’s. Easy peesy.
I find the Genesis a good size for our family of 3. Allows me to cook meat and a side or two all at once. Have had it going on a decade and it still looks great. Had to replace the gas regulator last year but everything else is in great shape still and I haven’t used a cover since the original fell apart probably 5 years ago.
Understand straight up that because a flat is more lean, you need to be very careful not to dry it out. See below.
This is so personal, really. Purists would turn their nose up at my go to blend, which is:
Brisket Rub
2T smoked pepper
T sugar
T onion powder
T garlic powder
T ground coffee
T black onyx cocoa
T ancho powder
t Pasilla negro
t 5-spice
Regardless of what spices you use, I recommend rubbing it down in some mustard beforehand. This helps the spices stick, is tasty, and helps retain moisture.
I also dry brine with salt (1/2 tsp of Morton’s kosher per pound), uncovered in the fridge for 24 hours before cooking. This also helps retain moisture when cooking.
Don’t be surprised when it takes 12-16 hours @ 225, depending on when you wrap it.
195 minimum. I use 203, per Meathead. At 190, I don’t think you are getting full connective tissue breakdown, so the meat will be less “moist”
The point of wrapping is to push through the stall. In my experience, 170 is past that point (or nearly so), but that can vary with the cooker, the meat, etc. I would go by time. Are you putting it on late the night before? If so, you can wrap it the next morning. If starting first thing, wait as long as you can to build up bark…4-6 hours, maybe? If the temp is holding steady for an hour or two, you can think about wrapping it then.
If you can get some, I would rub that flat down with beef tallow before you wrap it in the paper. That will help produce a better, less dry result.
You want the meat off the fire a couple of hours before you cut it. Stick it in an ice chest with a bunch of old towels.
Most importantly, set your expectations reasonably. You can make it good, but cooking just a flat is a challenge.
Nah, the point of wrapping is to get it cooked faster because it reduces evaporation (the source of the stall)…at least that’s my understanding.
You kind of have to develop a feel based on your own technique and equipment. If you wrap too early, you won’t get good bark formation. But my bark used to come out too tough, so it actually softens it enough to make it easy to cut.
If meat tastes like an ashtray, you might want to use a different wood. You get the most smoke flavor from the initial hours of the cook. Pellet smokers, generally speaking, don’t produce a heavy smoke flavor compared to using real wood. I find it to be plenty, personally.
Most of my knowledge comes from the book Meathead, which I can’t recommend enough. That and experience at this point. If I’ve got anything wrong, someone will correct me.
Excellent tips. I can go up to 250-275 range when I hit the stall if that helps at all?
I’ll plan on more time. It’s raining here today so it’ll be Saturday or Sunday before I do it.
It’s called a crutch for the reason it helps retain and raise the heat faster once you hit the stall. It can wreck the bark if done too early, as you’ll have too much moisture still releasing from the exterior. I’ve personally never wrapped, but for time reasons, it’s used by a lot of people.
It sounds like what I’ve missed before the most was a loooong rest. I have a small cooler I can do that in to help.
To add to the ashtray comment, the only time I’ve ever made something ashtray tasting was when putting the meat in too early before white smoke phase.
That pic definitely looks like a flat, yeah. The flat always looks dry in pics whether it is or not, and the point usually has a band of fat in the middle.
The time doesn’t change, smoking on a pellet grill is also going to take all day.
But honestly, the amount I had to check in on the grill was very minimal. First 3-4 hours were fine, then I only went out every 45 mins to spritz. I think people underestimate how well a kettle grill can keep a good solid temp all day.
It makes sense for doing stuff overnight for sure, that way you can sleep peacefully not worrying about an alarm waking you up if there are temperature issues.
I think the best advice I would give someone who wants to get into smoking is to try it on a kettle grill first, because they probably already have one, and if they don’t they should buy a kettle grill because they are cheap and super useful for everything.
If I find myself hooked on the smoking bug, I might upgrade to a smoky mountain, but something about a grill requiring an outlet just bothers me.
